Inductive Reasoning :
Arguing from specific cases to more general conclusions Inductive Reasoning
Arguments by Example :
Examines one or more cases within a specific class and reasons that if these cases have certain features then other, as yet unknown, cases in that class will also have those features.
Example: Susan Jones, Ann Harper, and Liz Kent are members of Delta, Delta, Delta, and they are on the Dean’s List. Tri-Delts are good students.
Are there enough examples and are they representative? Arguments by Example
Arguments by Analogy :
Seeks to identify similarities between cases that might, on the surface, seem to be quite dissimilar, in order to permit an inference to be drawn.
Literal- draws a direct comparison
It is time for the university to start thinking of students as the customers of the university.
Figurative- comparisons between classes that are materially dissimilar from each other
Many senators responded like drug addicts demanding their daily fix when confronted with a bill limiting their income from outside sources.
Tests: are the compared cases alike in a meaningful way? Arguments by Analogy
Arguments from Causal Correlation :
Examines specific cases in order to identify an actual relationship or correlation between them
Excessive exposure to violence on television leads to a willingness to accept violence as appropriate behavior and decreases people’s sense of revulsion towards violence in real life.
Tests: is the association between cause and effect consistent? Is the association a strong one? Does it follow a predictable time sequence? Arguments from Causal Correlation
Deductive Arguments :
Generalizing from theories or principles believed to be true to make claims about individual cases Deductive Arguments
Arguments from Sign :
Relies on the presence of certain observable attributes to prove that it can be related to a generalization that is assumed to be true.
The students were hunched over their desks in apt concentration, and the quiet in the room was almost deafening. It was obvious they were taking their required PSSA tests very seriously.
Are there enough signs present to support the conclusion? Are contradictory signs present? Arguments from Sign
Causal Generalization :
Argues deductively from some general principles that are assumed to be true to judgments about specific cases under consideration.
It is unwise to raise interest rates. Every time interest rates have been substantially raised, a recession has followed.
Is the cause sufficient to produce the effect? Might the cause result in other quite different effects? Might intervening factors preclude the expected relationship? Causal Generalization